Weight Watchers Friendly Meals

Saturday at my Weight Watchers meeting, my leader, Renee, mentioned some good, low-point summer recipes. During the conversation I asked her and the group if they were familiar with the Weight Watchers recipe magazine that comes out twice a year. They weren't. I recommended the current issue, which has several really good recipes in it. Over the past few months, I've made several recipes from other issues of this magazine: lemon-parsley chicken, spinach stuffed trout, Thai chicken in peanut sauce, and schnitzel with noodles. My favorite Sunday breakfast is another Weight Watcher friendly meal, good at any time of the day. Check out those links for recipes.

I usually buy the Weight Watchers recipe magazine at the Publix; I find it on the magazine stand next to the cash register. Weight Watchers usually publishes the magazine in the fall and spring.

I made a couple of those recipes Saturday night: Lemon Basil Shrimp with Fettuccine. At only 5 points per serving, this is an easy recipe to make, but it looks like I cooked all day. And the great thing about this recipe was that I already had most of the ingredients in my pantry. Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
1 1/4 cups vertically sliced onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 (9 ounce) pkg. fettuccine
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Boil fettuccine (don't add any fat to the water) and drain. While it's cooking, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic to pan; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Increase heat to high; add wine. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until wine reduces by half. Add shrimp, tomatoes, and next 4 ingredients; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Add cooked fettuccine to shrimp mixture; toss gently to coat. To serve, sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6.

I served the lemon basil shrimp with sauteed summer squash with basil and tomatoes. As I reviewed this recipe, I realized it's the way I cook my squash all the time, just with grape tomatoes and Asagio cheese added. It's only one point per serving:

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
2 small zucchini, sliced
1 large yellow squash, sliced (I used more than that)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup grape tomatoes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded Asagio cheese
2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, squash, and onion; saute 6 minutes. Add garlic; saute 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper to pan; saute 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in cheese and basil. Serves 6.

All these fresh herbs and pasta make me want to go to Italy to try some honest to goodness real Italian food. So I'm hopping on a plane Tuesday, and I'll be there for 10 days, visiting Salerno, Amalfi, Siena, Florence, Pompeii, and Rome. I'll have while I'm gone. I'm sure the dishes I make won't qualify for the 3 cooking classesWeight Watchers cookbook, but they ought to be good. So I'll blog about them (and post photos) in June.

Ciao!